Rising overtime pay for gardaí blamed on deal to avoid strike

Charlie Flanagan, the justice ­minister, said that the rise was unprecedentedBRIAN LAWLESS/PA

Pay awards made by the Labour Court are behind a sharp rise in the gardaí overtime bill this year, according to the justice minister.

Charlie Flanagan confirmed yesterday that more than €130 million will be spent on overtime payments – an increase of 43 per cent. He said that €28 million of the extra €39 million spent this year could be attributed to the implementation of the Labour Court agreement.

The deal, reached with garda representative bodies last year to avoid a strike, includes extra pay for the 15-minute period that gardaí spend “on parade” before their shifts — a largely historical practice of preparing for work. This is estimated to be worth about €1,500 a year to each garda.

Mr Flanagan said that the…

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